A/N - Here we go again. I hope you enjoy. Please review if you feel so inclined. I always appreciate them.
Unable to withstand the physical separation any longer knowing she was hurt, Edward swooped in and recovered Bella from Bonnie and Caroline, scooping her up in his arms and huddling her to him. The feel of her heartbeat vibrating against his own silent chest issuing a sweet solace to his frayed nerves. This time, he had come way too close to losing her. Some part of him felt as if he were being tested and judged. Each and every time, she had come close to death's final blow, he had not been near her. Edward wanted to shout up at the heavens that he got it, he understood. He had already promised never to leave her again; the feelings that cemented him to her side were strong and everlasting. So why was the universe punishing him like this?
Stefan wrapped Elena into his tight embrace, taking comfort in the feel of her in his arms and the perfumed scent of her long brown hair. Pulling back from her only slightly, he cupped her cheeks. "Are you okay?" He queried tenderly as he caressed her face with his thumbs.
She looked at him and darted her eyes over to Damon, who was looking at her with white hot heat in his blue eyes. She wanted to comfort both of them and wipe away the worry lines that marked their brows. "I'm a little shaken up." She said looking at Damon before turning her attention back to Stefan. "But I'm not hurt." She added with a tentative smile.
Damon clenched and unclenched his jaw, fighting hard not to let the look that passed between he and Elena affect him too much. What was going through that head of hers and why did he feel like the expression in her eyes told more than her mouth ever would? Marking it up to wishful thinking due to unrequited desires on his part, he turned his attention back to Isabella who still hadn't regained consciousness.
"Edward, I'd like to examine her quickly, if I may?" Carlisle asked his son, approaching him cautiously like he was confronting a wild animal. He saw Edward stiffen perceptibly at his question. "It's okay, son. I just want to check her wounds."
Edward did not want to relinquish his hold on Bella; not after finally holding her after what seemed like too long a time. The more rational side of his brain took over though, breaking through the torment that still had him wrapped in it's unrelenting grip. It would be for the best and he did want to see Bella's injuries for himself.
Carrying her over to one of their cars, he laid her gently in the back seat. Pressing a tender kiss against her unresponsive lips, he let Carlisle take over to his ministrations.
Unable to detect any obvious injuries to the parts of her that were visible, Carlisle swiftly unbuttoned her jacket and hissed when he saw what lie underneath. Her clothes were beyond soaked with her own blood and there seemed to be a gaping hole in the middle of her top.
"What is it?" Edward looked over his shoulder and immediately recoiled at the sight. If he was human, he would have been violently ill on the spot. There was too much blood! Why? Where? How was it possible she was still alive?
Carlisle sent a sharp glance to the girls, who were staring at him nervous and wide eyed. "What happened to her?" He demanded as he tore open the front of her shirt where the hole was. No longer was he the congenial father figure. This was the Carlisle, the doctor; the one that made life and death decisions within a millisecond in the ER.
"Katherine stabbed her." Rosalie was the one who spoke up when she saw that everyone else was reluctant to answer.
"Do you want to repeat that again?" Edward demanded as he felt slight tremors ripple through his body.
"I don't understand." Carlisle said as he continued to look at Bella's abdomen. "There is no open wound." Upon further inspection, hidden beneath the dark reddish brown blood smears, he saw it...a red puckered scar about two inches wide. His brows furrowed in confusion. "It's already been healed? How it that possible?"
Caroline nervously cleared her throat. "There was no time to call an ambulance. I had to...I had to..." She stumbled over her words as she twisted her hands together.
Stefan sighed in understanding. "You fed her your blood." he finished for her, taking pity on her anxious state.
She nodded silently, wanting nothing more to cower under Edward's heavily weighted stare.
"Amazing." Carlisle whispered in wonder as he continued to examine the area further, feeling the pucker of the wound beneath his fingertips.
"Our blood has healing qualities." Stefan went on as he felt curious sets of eyes fall on him for further explanation.
"Side effects?" Absolutely intriguing. I'll have to ask for a sample so I can study this.
"Very few...possible headache, not unlike a hangover, maybe fatigue, some sensitivity to light."
"Don't forget the biggest one of all, dear brother." Damon interjected, crossing his arms in front of him as he leaned back on his heels. "If she dies while Caroline's blood is in her system, she goes into transition."
"She becomes like you." Edward said flatly, his attention locked on Bella over Carlisle's shoulder. He did not like this one bit. The danger that crossed Bella's path on a daily basis significantly upped her chances for such a fate. If she turned before the spell, all hope was lost. She would never survive...not mentally anyway. "That can't happen." He finished.
"How long is that a concern?" Carlisle asked Damon.
Damon shrugged and looked at Caroline accusingly. "It depends how much was given to her."
Caroline looked panicked as she tossed her hands in the air in exasperation. "I don't know! It 's not like I used a measuring spoon or anything"
"It's okay Caroline." Stefan reassured her and cast an reproving stare at Damon. "You saved Bella. That's all that counts right now. We'll just have to be more vigilant in keeping her safe."
"Lock her up and throw away the key if we have to." Damon agreed, leaning against the car and looking through the windshield glass at Isabella. She was still deathly pale and it brought back the all too vivid memories of the last time he had seen her like that…lying broken on the Aubusson carpet under the stairway balcony in the foyer. It was Katherine's fault then and it was Katherine's fault now. She had just signed her death warrant and he would be more than happy to be the executioner.
"Oh she won't like that at all." Alice said imagining Bella being locked in a room, banging on the door.
"She won't have a choice." Damon and Edward both said simultaneously, giving each other a hard stare afterwards.
"Guys, As much as I'd like to stay here and chat, we really have to get out if here before we're discovered." Bonnie told them glancing nervously at the entrance of the Grill, watching a laughing group of drunk college students exit the building.
Alice sighed. "She's right. Full disclosure can come later. I'll call Jasper and do a little damage control. They can't be in the house when we bring Bella back. The smell of blood is too fresh."
Elena nodded in agreement. "Right. Bonnie and I will help bathe Bella and rid of her clothes.
Alice puckered her face in a frown. "It's a shame. I really liked that outfit on her."
Bella came to with a fierce start as soon as her body hit the luke warm water. Thinking she was drowning again, she flailed her arms and legs, fighting what she thought was a rip current threatening to bring her under.
Soothing hands sat her upright as her ears and eyes started to focus on what was going on around her. Bonnie and Elena leaned over her in concern.
"Ssshh, Bella. It's okay. You're fine." Elena told her in a calm voice meant to erase the panic Bella so clearly showed on her pale face.
"Katherine..." She managed to croak out before her eyes narrowed to angry slits. "Did that bitch actually stab me?"
"Well, at least she's not drunk anymore." Bonnie mused.
"Yes, but she's gone now. Caroline gave you her blood to heal you."
Bella looked down at her naked torso with a frown, noting the water had started to swirl red around her. "Huh...would you look at that?" She said in awe when she saw the scar that had faded drastically. She sat up and traced the puckered mark, gingerly pressing on it expecting to feel some pain and was surprised when there wasn't even a pinch.
"Pretty cool, huh?" Elena chuckled giving the washcloth to her now that she was coherent enough. "We'd better hurry. You have over six feet of primal vampire male pacing right outside this door."
No sooner than the words had come out of her mouth, there was an impatient knock on the door. Bonnie turned to Elena and then Bella, her lips fighting not to smile.
"Bella" the velvety voice said with a tinge of worry.
"Gee I wonder who that could be?" Bonnie said, not bothering to hide her sarcasm. "Are we preserving your modesty Bella or should we let him in?"
Bella appreciated Bonnie's teasing tone. It was a reminder that they didn't have to have the latest events crumble them. "I can't preserve what I no longer have." She said with a shrug and a guilty smile with a tell tale blush to go along with it; her thoughts going back to what happened earlier that morning. It seemed so long ago. "Let him in."
Edward had heard Bella regain consciousness with a vengeance while he was waiting outside the door should they need his assistance. The others were gathered downstairs and he felt his presence along with the already volatile Damon would be akin to throwing gasoline on a fire.
As par for the course, she had surprised him once again. He expected her to be shaken to the core and panicked but when he heard her ask the girls if Katherine had stabbed her, her voice didn't hold fear. It had been full of contempt, like Bella was more upset that Katherine actually had the audacity to stab her as opposed to worrying about the wound that was inflicted.
It had taken him all of a scant few seconds to decide that he could no longer wait to see her. That's when he knocked softly on the door.
Elena opened the door and peaked her head out with a smile, her eyes gauging the mood of the bronze haired vampire before her. It was hard to tell with him. He only seemed to alternate between three emotions; at least on the exterior –gloomy, lusty and angry- like some vampire version of Snow White's dwarves or The Smurfs. She tried not to giggle at herself at the thought.
"The Smurfs. I've been told I look decent in blue." Edward answered her thoughts.
"I bet." Elena immediately covered her mouth with her hand, this time unable to stop the chuckle. Opening the door wider, she waved him inside.
Bonnie used the side of the tub as leverage to pull herself up from her kneeling position. She smiled at him in greeting but he barely registered it. His eyes were only for Bella. She saw that immediately as his reverent gaze washed over Bella; his shoulder's losing their tense edge - relaxing immediately after scanning her bubble covered body.
Elena grabbed Bonnie's hand and pulled her towards the door. "We're just uh…we're just gonna go."
Bella gave a little wave and watched Edward sink down to his knees beside her. "I'm sorry I scared you." She said as she lifted the washcloth and began to rub it down her arms. Thankfully the bubbles hid the red swirls of water although she was sure Edward could still smell her blood.
Edward shook his head slowly from side to side. "Scare is quite an understatement, my love. I don't think there is a word in any language that can describe what I felt…but I won't have you apologizing for something that's not your fault."
"Then don't blame yourself either." She told him fiercely as she scrubbed herself harder.
He held his hand out to her, signaling for the cloth. "Let me…please."
She surrendered the washcloth to his waiting hand and watched as a poured some of Elena's bodywash onto it. He gently brought it to her skin and rubbed worshipfully over all her mounds and valleys, leaving no surface untouched. Leaning forward, she allowed him access to her back and sighed when he gently massaged the aching muscles by her neck.
"How are you feeling…really?" He asked after a time.
"Considering I drank enough tequila to sink a small boat and was gutted like a fish by a sadistic vampire…I'm pretty okay."
Edward couldn't help himself. He threw his head back and laughed at her humorous analogy and felt pieces of left over tension slink off him. His Bella always amazed him.
He noticed the goosebumps on her arms and knew that the water had grown too cold for her to be comfortable. "Let's get you out then, shall we?"
He held her hand to steady her as she gradually stood up. He had to temper his lust immediately. She looked like some sort of brazen goddess like sea nymph rising from the ocean; water sluicing down her near perfect alabaster skin in rivulets. His adam's apple bobbed convulsively in his throat as he helped her from the tub and wrapped her in a thick towel, rubbing it over her to dry her off.
Bella noticed the darkening of his iris's and the dilation of his pupils with some amusement.
"Whatever are you thinking about Miss Swan?" He cocked his eyebrow in inquiry when he saw the hint of a not so innocent smile adorn her face.
"That there are better uses for this bathtub, Mr. Cullen." She answered cheekily and swept past him into the bedroom so she could get dressed.
XXXXX
Caroline sat with her hands clenched in front of her as she watched Damon pace back and forth alternating between growling, cursing under his breath and waving his arms in wild gesticulating motions, pausing ever so briefly to tug at his hair. She knew better than to say anything to him while he was in this state. He just might snap her neck and she was pretty attached to that part of her body.
Without warning, he blurred over to her gripping the sides of her chair so alarmingly fast, she jumped back with a squeak.
"Talk, now." He demanded. His jaw was clenched so tightly, he thought it would break.
"But shouldn't we..." she pointed upstairs. "...wait for the others?" Caroline was no fool, she wanted back up. She doesn't think she'd ever seen Damon so riled up…ever and she had seen him pissed off many times. Nothing compared. It would've been kinda cute actually, this protectiveness over his little sister, if his anger weren't aimed in her direction.
"Do you see my face?" Damon locked his intense gaze with her startled one, his index finger pointing at the veins that were starting to show through the skin around his eyes. "Does this look like the face of a patient man? Now. What. The. Fuck. Happened .Tonight.?"
"Damon, back off." Bonnie said coming down the stairs with Elena following right behind, both girls glaring at him.
"Fine." He pushed himself off the arms of Caroline's chair. His retreat dictated more by the reproving look that Elena was giving him rather than Bonnie's threatening vibe. "Where's Isabella?"
"With Edward." Bonnie answered him.
"Of course, why did I even bother asking?"
"How is she?" Emmett had been concerned ever since he had been let back in the house with only minimal information. Something about Katherine, a knife and healing blood but he had no idea what that meant; only that Bella had been hurt; harmed enough that even the expressionless vampire sitting in the corner, Elijah, had looked concerned. He hadn't even been tempted to crack even one lewd joke, his usual defense mechanism when things got too intense.
"She's okay." Elena told them all. "Pissed off but essentially okay. She'll probably be down any moment so you can see for yourselves." The last part was directed at Damon. He had scowled when she said the word "okay". He was obviously looking for more description. "She's tougher than she looks, Damon."
"She'll have to be." Elijah finally spoke up, covering a loud, exaggerated fake yawn with his hand.
"I'm sorry. Are we boring you?" Damon asked him snarkily.
"Quite." The Original quirked one side of his lips in a condescending smile.
"There's a little something called a door. I suggest you use it if we're not entertaining enough for you."
"I really don't think you want me to do that"
"Oh yeah, I really, really do."
"Damon, that's enough." Stefan intervened in the little by-play. "Elijah has promised us information…important information."
"Oh, come on, really?" Damon furiously threw his hands up in the air before settling them to rest them on top his head. "What is it about this guy that says trustworthy to you?"
"He could've killed you but didn't." Elena told him. "Because he made a promise to me."
"Yeah, yeah…protect the ones you care about blah, blah, blah" He rolled his eyes conceding that point still wondering how he got to be included in that exclusive club after everything he had done. "I still don't like him."
"You don't have to like me." Elijah said easing himself off the chair he had been occupying to get up in Damon's face. "But whether you want to believe it or not, we all want the same thing."
"World peace? No pollution? Help me out here Barbie, what do beauty pageant contestants usually say?" He smirked at Caroline.
Elijah let out an exasperated sigh. His attention turned immediately to the footfalls coming down the stairs.
After changing into a t shirt and yoga pants, Bella made her way down the stairs with Edward. Even as a human, she could hear the back and forth, not so polite banter, Damon was having with nearly everyone in the room. An obvious testament that he was not in the best frame of mind right now and it would take very little for him to snap. She hoped her current state of good health would serve as a deterrent for any lashing out he was tempted to do.
After assuring them all that she was indeed, fine, with the exception of a small mark, she along with Alice and Caroline went onto explain what had happened beginning with Bella rushing off to the bathroom to "toss her cookies"; as Caroline had so eloquently put it.
"I don't get the Plan B part" Carlisle said.
"Katherine always has a Plan B if plan A fails." Stefan explained.
"And a plan C, a plan D, a plan E…you get the picture." Damon added.
"So kidnap her or kill her?" Edward asked.
"It doesn't make sense." Jasper spoke up, shaking his head trying to piece the puzzle together.
"And why is that, Bobby Fischer?" Damon asked.
"Because she stabbed her in front of Caroline knowing full well that Caroline would heal her."
"No, she knew Caroline could heal her, not that she would." Bonnie told him.
But Jasper shook his head once more and held up a silencing finger as he began to pace and think things through. Edward snapped his head to his brother trying to follow his thoughts.
"I don't think so." Jasper turned around to look at them, his brows knitting together. "She held Bella to her." He demonstrated by capturing Alice and holding her in front of him."Stabbed her." Jasper motioned with his hand. "Then retracted the knife and took off." After giving Alice a kiss by her ear, he let her go and thought for a moment. "She didn't want Bella dead…not in that moment anyway. She wanted the knife back. She would have left it in otherwise. Removing it would have taken added time…so it was absolutely necessary that she leave with it."
Elijah began to clap slowly until all attention was turned his way. "Very well done, Jasper Cullen. I commend you on your deductive reasoning."
"Are we playing Clue now? Miss Scarlett in the bathroom with a knife?" Damon's voiced dripped with sarcasm. "Okay, so bitchy wanted the knife back…to what end?"
"Was there anything special about the knife...any markings? Symbols?" Jasper asked the girls.
"No, nothing." Elena answered. "It was your run of the mill, ordinary straight edge knife. She probably stole it from the Grill's kitchen."
"Blood." Alice said finally getting it. "She wanted Bella's blood. But why?"
Elijah cleared his throat. "I believe this is where I come in." He pointed to the bottle of malt scotch on the bar setee. "May I?" He didn't wait for an answer but poured himself a glass and took a slow swallow letting the smooth alcohol slide down his throat as his audience watched him.
He looked at each of them individually, weighing their expectant expressions before continuing. Where to start? At the beginning was as good a place as any.
"This may shock you." He delivered the disclaimer with a grin into his glass.
"Oh that would be a such a refreshing change considering what we've dealt with so far." Rosalie crossed her arms over her chest.
"So be it. You've been warned." He put the glass down and wandered around the room with his hands clasped behind his back.
Damon rolled his eyes. Did this guy take lessons on suspense from Hitchcock? He was about to tell grandpa vamp to get on with it when the old codger spoke again.
"The Sun and Moon Curse is a lie." He stated and waited for the subsequent denials.
"What?" Stefan said, absolute shock coloring his tone.
"A lie...bunk, malarkey, hogwash, bullshit or whatever myriad of synonyms you want to throw out there for good measure."
"You're lying." Damon accused.
"I assure you I am not."
"How is that possible?" Elena cried out, her voice cracking with barely subdued anger.
"I was there when Klaus came up with it. Indeed, I even critiqued the artwork."
Elena advanced on him in fury wanting nothing more than to issue a slap to his smug face. "You mean all this time, I've been scared out of my mind, terrified that I was going to die and now you say it's a load of crap! It was all for nothing!"
But Elijah wasn't intimidated by the young human. He was actually enjoying her outburst as fruitless as it was.
"I said the sun and moon curse is a lie, I didn't say the sacrifices were not."
